Chapter 489 Mid-Autumn Festival
"Let's ask our fourth sister to draw a picture for everyone and send it to our third brother when it's done. He will definitely be happy." Yingchun also suggested with a smile.
As soon as these words were spoken, several people nodded in agreement.
The girls chattered and discussed for a while before they all dispersed!
…
Jia Cong led the army to speed up their journey. After passing Taiyuan Prefecture, they headed south along the Fen River towards Pingyang Prefecture.
"Marshal, tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival. Should we have some fun?" Jiang Zining asked Jia Cong with a smile.
Jia Cong was slightly stunned, then sighed and said, "I never thought that it would be the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Where are we now?"
The guide at the side hurried forward to report, "General, we are now in Huoyi County. Thirty miles ahead is a small town called Zhaocheng. Beyond Zhaocheng is Hongdong County, about a hundred and thirty miles from Pingyang Prefecture."
After a brief thought, Jia Cong gave the order, "Immediately inform the front army that the central army must arrive in Hongdong County before noon tomorrow, and then all the troops will temporarily set up camp. Every festive occasion makes us miss our families, not to mention our brothers. Stay in Hongdong County for half a day, cook dinner in the evening, and let the army rest for half a day."
"Send a message to Marquis Zhongjing to have him send troops to Pingyang Prefecture in advance and have them prepare all necessary food and fodder to avoid delaying the rest of the march."
"Also, tell the brothers that we have to hurry back to the Marshal after this half-day journey."
Immediately, someone ordered the soldiers to leave quickly. Jiang Zining smiled and said, "The commander-in-chief is considerate of the soldiers. We are lucky!"
"Brothers, you fight for the country without fear of life and death. As generals, we should take good care of our soldiers. Otherwise, why would you fight for us?" Jia Cong said with a smile.
In fact, Jia Cong was very good to his army! Since leaving the capital, all food and grass supplies had been treated with great care. In addition, God also helped. Not only did it not rain, but the weather was pleasant and clear all the way. Therefore, in less than 20 days, the army traveled 1,500 miles.
After receiving Jia Cong's order, the troops were extremely excited. Before noon the next day, the army had arrived outside Hongdong County.
Later, the various armies reported that all the soldiers had entered the camp for rest and recuperation.
Accommodation was a significant challenge for such a large-scale military expedition. For a smaller force, it wouldn't be difficult to arrange for accommodation, whether by assigning it to the nearest government office or directly requesting the post stations along the way to make arrangements. In ancient times, post stations were numerous, with the nearest one located only 20 to 30 miles away, and the farthest only 50 to 60 miles.
However, it is not possible for a large army to march.
The daily food and fodder consumption of a 100,000-man army was a terrifying figure. No matter how abundant the reserves at the post station were, they could not supply it, and there were no such a large number of houses. Therefore, most of them could only camp in the wild.
There are two situations for camping in the wild. One is when marching in border areas. Because you may encounter enemy raids at any time, the camp needs to be solid. When marching in the hinterland, the camp will be simpler and only needs to be patrolled by soldiers.
For example, Jia Cong's army was like this. The vanguard was not only responsible for clearing obstacles, but also preparing camps for the troops behind them. Generally speaking, the generals' camps were naturally better, while ordinary soldiers only had tents. Moreover, the camps of tens of thousands of troops spanned several miles, and there were strict regulations for roads, toilets, and so on. It was not something that could be done arbitrarily.
At night, Jia Cong was rarely extravagant and asked the cooks to take out a lot of meat to supplement the food for his army.
Although there were no grand banquets or feasting, such a rest was a rare enjoyment for the soldiers.
In comparison, the Mid-Autumn Festival in Shenjing City and the one celebrated by Jia Cong and others are almost two different worlds.
Especially for the wealthy families, lanterns are hung high and the house is full of joy!
All the people from the two mansions of the Jia family gathered in the courtyard of the old lady in the west mansion. The old lady sat on a high couch, and the masters of the other rooms all came forward to congratulate the old lady and presented her with gifts.
Then, the old lady announced the start of the banquet.
The old lady, Lady Xing, Mrs. You, Keqing and the three sisters sat at the same table, with Li Wan and Wang Xifeng taking care of them.
After paying their respects to the old lady, Yuanyang and the others prepared to leave. However, the old lady asked them to have a banquet in the inner hall as well and sit at a separate table.
Concubines were not allowed to sit in the main hall or at the table, just like Jia Zheng's two concubines. No matter how big or small the banquet was, they were not qualified to attend. They could only be invited to the banquet given by the old lady, but in reality, they were only given a few dishes of food to eat in their rooms. However, Jia Cong's concubines were different.
Not to mention Jia Cong's favor for these women, even if Yuanyang and the other two all had the status of imperial concubines, no one dared to treat them as ordinary concubines. Not to mention in the Jia Mansion, even in other mansions, who would dare to neglect them?
The group's maids also held a banquet in the flower hall. Jia Zheng, Baoyu and Jia Lan, who had just returned from vacation, set up more than a dozen tables in the front hall and invited a group of side branches to attend the banquet.
Although it was already dark, the Jia Mansion was as bright as day, and there were laughter and joy everywhere.
In the back hall of the Lin Mansion, Daiyu and Lin Ruhai, father and daughter, were sitting upright, with two concubines taking care of them. Although the dishes on the table were not very rich, the father and daughter were obviously very happy to be able to get together to celebrate the festival.
Apart from…
"Dad, where is Third Brother now? He's on the march during this important festival, and I don't know if he can even eat mooncakes! "
Lin Ruhai's chopsticks stopped at his mouth. This was the eighth time his daughter mentioned that bastard since the banquet started.
"Don't worry!" Lin Ruhai took a deep sip of his wine. "That guy is the commander of a large army. How can we make him suffer? Besides, when the army stops, the nearby prefectures will also send people to reward the soldiers. Maybe that guy is drinking and eating meat, and he is happier than us."
Daiyu rolled her eyes at her father and said, "Third brother has always been sympathetic to the soldiers and must have shared the joys and sorrows with them. How could he be the kind of person that father described?"
"Dad is the Minister of Revenue, and he is specifically responsible for the army's food and fodder. He can't be careless. Otherwise, my third brother will starve!"
Lin Ruhai sighed deeply, thinking that he had raised his daughter in vain!
The atmosphere in the Xue family was much more lively than that in the Lin family. Aunt Xue set up a banquet in the back hall. Since they were all blood relatives, Xue Pan and Xue Ke also sat at the same table with their mother and sisters.
There were also many maids and servants outside, all drinking and eating, and the entire house was hung with big red lanterns.
"Today is a festival, and our family has had many happy events recently. It seems that our Xue family is becoming more and more prosperous!" Aunt Xue said happily, holding up the wine glass.
